National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

What National Great Rivers Research and Education Center does

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) is a non-profit freshwater research, education, and outreach organization founded in 2002 and operating as a division of Lewis and Clark Community College in East Alton, Illinois. Established through a partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Illinois Natural History Survey, and Lewis and Clark Community College, the center studies large river systems and their watersheds, with a primary focus on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. It serves K-12 students and educators, undergraduate researchers, private landowners, community science volunteers, and state and federal government agencies across Illinois.

The organization's core infrastructure is the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station, a 32,000-square-foot LEED Gold certified research facility in Alton, Illinois, featuring laboratories, classrooms, riverside access, and green construction (solar power, greywater recycling, green roof). Its technology stack includes LiDAR-based wetland detection, drone and remote sensing capabilities, the GREON water quality monitoring buoy network, environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis, and standardized macroinvertebrate bioindicator protocols. Service offerings span three pillars: research (large river ecology, wetlands, terrestrial wildlife, agricultural-environmental economics), education (Waterschool USA, Project WET, Water Festival, STREAM Series, NSF-funded REU internships), and outreach (Illinois RiverWatch Network, Frog Watch, Mussel Monitoring, Wetland Watch, Winter Chloride Watch, Habitat Strike Team, and a Land Conservation Specialist Program operating across 14 Illinois counties).

Revenue is generated almost entirely through grants and donations rather than commercial sales. Funding sources include federal agencies (NRCS, NSF, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Illinois state agencies (Illinois EPA, Illinois Department of Natural Resources), and private foundations (Walton Family Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, The Monticello Foundation, Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation, Swarovski Foundation, Trees Forever). Programmatic revenue includes tiered Water Festival sponsorships ($100 per class to $3,000 per school), $50 per-participant mussel monitoring workshop fees, and $8,000 NSF REU intern stipends. Distribution is primarily direct through the field station, mobile school outreach, NRCS channel partnerships for landowner conservation, and a community volunteer network.

Name

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Legal name

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Website

https://ngrrec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center is a non-profit freshwater research, education, and outreach organization operating as a division of Lewis and Clark Community College, serving K-12 schools, private landowners, community scientists, and government agencies across the Mississippi River watershed in Illinois.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Research and Education Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE), Wellhead Protection & Source Water Protection Studies (EUAHAFAK)

Keywords

• Freshwater research
• Watershed conservation
• Environmental education
• River ecology
• Community science

Headquarters

HQ city

East Alton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: Primary revenue from federal and state government agencies including Illinois EPA, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Science Foundation for research programs.
2. Foundation Grants: Funding from private foundations including Walton Family Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, Trees Forever, The Monticello Foundation, and Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation for specific conservation and education initiatives.
3. Donations and Contributions: Individual and organizational donations through the Lewis and Clark Foundation to support conservation programs and facility operations.
4. Educational Programs: Revenue from educational workshops, field station tours, and community science programs for schools and organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) conducts freshwater research, education, and outreach programs focused on the Mississippi River watershed. It operates the LEED Gold-certified Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station in East Alton, Illinois, and delivers programming including the Illinois RiverWatch Network, Waterschool USA, Project WET, the annual Water Festival, the STREAM Series, undergraduate internships, and land conservation technical assistance for private landowners through Natural Resource Conservation Service partnerships.

Product overview

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) is a division of Lewis and Clark Community College offering a portfolio of research, education, and outreach programs centered on freshwater ecosystems and the Mississippi River watershed. The core offering is the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station, a LEED Gold-certified research facility serving as the hub for scientific research. The education pillar includes Waterschool USA, Project WET, Water Festival, STREAM Series, educational tours, and loanable kits. The community science pillar offers four volunteer monitoring programs: Illinois RiverWatch Network, Frog Watch, Mussel Monitoring, Wetland Watch, and Winter Chloride Watch. Conservation programs include the Habitat Strike Team and Land Conservation Specialist Program. Undergraduate internship programs provide research experiences, including the NSF-funded Wetland Science REU program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Illinois RiverWatch Network: A community science program that trains volunteers to monitor water quality by collecting and identifying macroinvertebrates to assess stream health.
• Waterschool USA
• Project WET
• Water Festival
• STREAM Series
• Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained over 480 interns from 41 academic institutions since 2003
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lewis and Clark Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization and founding partner providing institutional support, housing for intern programs, and administrative infrastructure for NGRREC operations.
• University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding academic partner providing research expertise, faculty collaboration, and access to the Illinois Natural History Survey for biodiversity research.
• Illinois Natural History SurveycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding research partner contributing scientific expertise in natural history, biodiversity, and ecological research for watershed studies.
• Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner for landowner conservation programs, providing funding and technical assistance for watershed protection and restoration initiatives across Illinois.
• Illinois Environmental Protection AgencymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner for water quality monitoring and environmental protection programs in Illinois waterways and watersheds.
• Illinois Department of Natural ResourcesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner supporting conservation programs, natural resource management, and environmental education initiatives.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner for wildlife conservation, habitat protection, and endangered species programs in the Mississippi River watershed.
• U.S. Army Corps of EngineersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner for river management, habitat restoration, and flood control projects along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
• Trees ForeverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner for tree planting and riparian restoration programs along waterways.
• Great Rivers Land TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLand trust partner for land conservation and preservation efforts along great rivers.
• The Nature InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner for nature education and preserve management programs.
• Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing housing for intern programs and student research opportunities.
• AmeriCorpsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational service program partner providing AmeriCorps members for conservation and environmental education projects.
• DePaul University (Chaddick Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner through the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development for urban watershed research.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Water Research Foundation: Large nonprofit that funds and disseminates applied water research for utilities and the water sector. Comparable in being a research-oriented water nonprofit, but operates as a subscription-funded collaborative research organization rather than a field-station-based center.
• Izaak Walton League of America: Long-standing national conservation organization with active watershed monitoring (Volunteer Stream Monitoring, Save Our Streams) and conservation policy work. Comparable in citizen-science and watershed stewardship focus, but with a much broader national footprint and policy advocacy mandate.

Direct peers

• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies: Independent, nonprofit ecological research and education center. Comparable model combining resident scientists, graduate training, K-12 environmental education, and long-term ecological datasets — directly parallel to NGRREC's three-pillar research/education/outreach approach.
• Hubbard Brook Research Foundation: Nonprofit that supports long-term watershed ecosystem research and science education. Comparable in its federal-grant-funded research model, long-term monitoring datasets, and emphasis on linking science to policy and education outreach.
• Stroud Water Research Center: Independent freshwater research and education nonprofit focused on stream and watershed science. Closest peer to NGRREC in mission and structure: research facility, education programs, community science, and long-term monitoring datasets on a major US river system.

Regional players

• Iowa Flood Center (University of Iowa): University-based research center studying flood prediction and large river systems, including in the Mississippi River basin. Comparable in big-river research focus and real-time monitoring infrastructure, but embedded in a university with deeper faculty and federal grant capture.

Emerging players

• River Network: National nonprofit supporting grassroots river and watershed protection groups. Comparable in mission and community science orientation, but focuses on capacity-building for other organizations rather than running a dedicated research facility.
• LimnoTech: Water science and engineering consulting firm focused on surface and groundwater quality. Comparable in freshwater monitoring and modeling expertise, particularly for Great Rivers and Great Lakes systems, but operates as a for-profit consultancy rather than an educational nonprofit.
• Great Lakes Environmental Center: Environmental research and consulting firm specializing in aquatic ecology and water quality studies. Comparable technically (water quality monitoring, ecological research) but operates as a consulting business rather than a mission-driven nonprofit.

Others

• Great Rivers Land Trust: Regional land trust working on conservation along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in Illinois. Direct operational partner through co-management of the 420-acre Palisades Nature Preserve; comparable mission in land conservation but without NGRREC's research and education scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/IL_RiverWatch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ngrrecofficial/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/NGRREC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-great-rivers-research-and-education-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/thengrrec

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Great Rivers Research and Education Center